The New Indian Express
The New Indian Express
The New Indian Express
The New Indian Express is the oldest English daily of an undisputed credibility for the last 80 years.
New Indian Express is arguably the flagship publication incorporating national and international themes and
sections on developmental issues, society, politics, literature, arts, cinema, travel, lifestyle, sports, business,
finance, new-age living, self-development and entertainment.
The readers of the newspaper spread all across the world with a very high NRI traffic to the website.
The publication boasts of a dynamic and discerning profile of informed readers who are constantly exploring new
possibilities to make their lives better.
The company was promoted by Express Publications (Madurai) Limited which is the flagship Company of the Group.
Express Publications (Madurai) Limited publishes the prestigious English language Newspaper, The New Indian
Express from 24 centers in Tamilnadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Odisha.
It also publishes Sunday Standard from New Delhi. Express Publications (Madurai) Limited also publishes Tamil daily
Dinamani , Cinema Express (Tamil), Malayalam Varika (Malayalam) and Sakhi (Kannada).
The company is owned and managed by Shri Manoj Kumar Sonthalia. The EditorialDirector of the group is Mr
Prabhu Chawla.
How do journalists decide what is news and what is not? How do they distinguish between a big news
story and a small one? The answer is that they do it in exactly the same way as everybody else.
Everybody makes those same judgments whenever they decide to talk about one event rather than
another.
For example, which do you think
is more interesting:
a) A girl going to primary school, tohigh school,
or to university?
b) A man aged 25 marrying a girl aged 20, or a
man aged 55 marrying a girl aged 15?
c) A car killing a chicken, a pig or a child?
Every one of these events might be news for the
community in which it happens, but some are
more newsworthy than others.
You very likely answered that the most
interesting things were a girlgoing to university,
a man aged 55 marrying a girl aged 15, and a
car killing a child. If your answer was different,
though, it does not necessarily mean that you
were wrong.
The same event can have different levels of
interest in different societies, and will be talked
about in different ways. If a farm wall has
collapsed, killing a cow and a pig, which is more
important? Clearly, the answer will vary from one
society to another, depending upon the relative
importance of cows and pigs.
For this reason, the content of the news can be different in different societies. The way in which the news
is judged, though, is the same everywhere.
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Criteria of news
The criteria by which news is judged are:
Is it new?
Is it unusual?
Is it interesting or significant?
Is it about people?
Is it new?
If it is not new, it cannot be news. The assassination of Mrs Gandhi is unusual, interesting, significant
and about people, but it cannot possibly be reported in tomorrow's papers, because it is not new.
If some facts about that assassination became known for the first time, however, that would be news.
The assassination would not be new, but the information would be.
Events which happened days or even weeks earlier can still be news, as long as they have not been
reported before. If you are telling a story for the first time, it is new to your readers or listeners and
therefore it can be news.
News of the death of Mao Tse-tung, for instance, was not released to the world by the Chinese
government for several days; when they did release it, however, it was still very definitely news.
Is it unusual?
Things are happening all the time, but not all of them are news, even when they are new. A man wakes
up, eats breakfast and goes to work on a bus; it has only just happened, but nobody wants to read about
it because it is not unusual. Ordinary and everyday things do not make news.
Of course, if that same man was 90 years old and was still catching the bus to work every day, it would
be unusual!
The classic definition of news is this: "Dog bites man" is not news; "Man bites dog" is news.
This definition, though, is not universal. If dogs are eaten in your society (at feasts, for instance) then it
will not be news when a man bites a dog - so long as it has been cooked.
What is usual in one society may be unusual in another. Again, we will expect the content of the news to
vary from society to society. In every society, though, whatever is unusual is likely to be news.
Is it interesting?
Events which are new and unusual may still not be of general interest. Scientists may report that an
insect has just been found living on a plant which it did not previously inhabit. The discovery is new, and
the event is unusual, but it is unlikely to interest anybody other than a specialist or enthusiast.
In a specialist publication this could be big news, but in a general news broadcast or paper it would merit
at most a few words.
Is it significant?
However, if that same insect was one which had a huge appetite, and which had previously lived on and
eaten bush grass and if the new plant on which it had been found was rice, then the story becomes
news, because it is significant.
People may not be interested in bugs, but they are interested in food. If this insect is now threatening
their crops, it becomes a matter of concern to them. It is news because it is significant.
Similarly, if a peasant farmer says that the Roman Catholic Church should ordain women priests, that is
not news. If an archbishop says it, it is news, because what he says on the subject is significant. It is the
views of people such as the archbishop which help to form the policy of the Church.
Once again, what is interesting or significant in one society may not be interesting or significant in
another. The content of the news may be different, therefore, in different societies, but the way it is
identified will be the same.
Is it about people?
Most news is automatically about people, because it is the things people do to change the world which
makes news.
However, news can also be made by non-human sources, such as a cyclone, a bush fire, a drought, a
volcanic eruption or an earthquake. It is when reporting these stories that it is important to make sure
that the story is centred on people.
The cyclone would not matter if it blew itself out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, away from any
inhabited islands; the fire could burn for as long as it likes in bush where nobody lives; the Sahara
Desert has a near-permanent drought, but in most of it nobody is there to rely on rains; a volcanic
eruption or an earthquake which damages nobody's property and injures nobody is really not news.
All these natural disasters only become news when they affect people's lives. Every story can be told in
terms of people. Always start by asking yourself the question: "How does this affect my readers',
listeners' or viewers lives?"
Whenever you have a story which tells of how something has happened which affects both people and
property, always put the people first
RIGHT:
More than 100 people were left homeless
after Cyclone Victor struck Suva
yesterday.
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WRONG:
Seventeen houses were flattened when
Cyclone Victor struck Suva yesterday.
Closeness
The same event happening in two different places can have two quite different news values. A coup
dtat in your own country is as big a story as you can ever have (although you will probably not be at
liberty to report it as you would wish!). A coup in the country next door is still a big story, because it may
affect the stability of your own country.
However, a coup in a small country in another continent is unlikely to merit more than a few paragraphs.
The appeal of local news is that your readers or listeners might know the people or place involved.
Remember, though, that the word "local" means different things to different people. If you broadcast to a
wide area or sell your newspaper in many different towns, you must realise that a small story which
interests readers in one place, because it is local, may not be of any interest to readers elsewhere.
Personal impact
The average reader, listener or viewer may be a parent, a person wanting a good education for the
children, dreaming of buying a car, looking forward to going home on leave, anticipating the next big
community feast or festival. You will need to have a very clear understanding of what your own readers
or listeners are like.
So stories about bride-price or dowries, children, land disputes, new schools, cheaper or dearer fares, or
whatever else is important and may affect your average reader, will have personal impact.
People can identify with stories about other people like themselves. So those stories with which many
people can identify are stronger than those which only apply to a few.
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Weather: The weather may affect the daily routine of people and is of interest when it behaves
unusually, with exceptionally high or low temperatures, or exceptionally high or low rainfall.
Food and drink: The rich person plans feasts, the poor person wants enough to eat and drink.
Shortages and gluts, crop diseases and harvest sizes, prices of food in the market or the launch of a new
brand of beer - these all make news.
Entertainment: Stories about music, dance, theatre, cinema and carving keep us informed of
developments in the arts, who is doing what, who is performing where, and what it is worth going to see
or hear.
Sport: Many people participate in sport and many others are spectators. They all want to know sports
results, news of sportsmen and sportswomen and their achievements.
Human interest: There are often unusual and interesting aspects of other people's lives which are not
particularly significant to society as a whole. Stories about these are called human interest stories.
Examples might be a child going abroad for surgery; a pilot recovering from injuries received in an air
crash and determined to fly again; or a man with a collection of a million picture postcards.
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TO SUMMARISE:
To decide what you should report, you must sort out news from non-news. To do this, ask
yourself the following questions about anything you think may be news:
Is it new?
Is it unusual?
Is it interesting?
Is it significant?
Is it about people?
If it is not new or unusual, if it is not interesting or significant, and if it will not affect your
readers' or listeners' lives, then it is not news. Do not publish it or broadcast it as news.
Journalists work in many areas of life, finding and presenting information. However, for the purposes of
this manual we define journalists principally as men and women who present that information as news to
the audiences of newspapers, magazines, radio or television stations or the Internet.
reporter, taking photographs to illustrate the written story, or attend news events on their own,
presenting both the pictures and a story or caption.
The editor is usually the person who makes the final decision about what is included in the newspaper,
magazine or news bulletins. He or she is responsible for all the content and all the journalists. Editors
may have deputies and assistants to help them.
The news editor is the person in charge of the news journalists. In small organisations, the news editor
may make all the decisions about what stories to cover and who will do the work. In larger organisations,
the news editor may have a deputy, often called the chief of staff, whose special job is to assign
reporters to the stories selected.
Feature writers work for newspapers and magazines, writing longer stories which usually give
background to the news. In small organisations the reporters themselves will write feature articles. The
person in charge of features is usually called thefeatures editor. Larger radio or television stations may
have specialist staff producing current affairs programs - the broadcasting equivalent of the feature
article. The person in charge of producing a particular current affairs program is usually called
theproducer and the person in charge of all the programs in that series is called theexecutive
producer or EP.
Specialist writers may be employed to produce personal commentary columns or reviews of things
such as books, films, art or performances. They are usually selected for their knowledge about certain
subjects or their ability to write well. Again, small organisations may use general reporters for some or
all of these tasks.
There are many other jobs which can be done by journalists. It is a career with many opportunities.
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Why be a journalist?
People enter journalism for a variety of reasons but, money apart, there are four main motives:
moved into politics or natural politicians who used journalism as a stepping stone.
There is a strong belief that journalists control the mass media but the best journalists recognise their
role as servants of the people. They are the channels through which information flows and they are the
interpreters of events. This recognition, paired with the desire to influence, can produce good
campaigning journalists who see themselves as watchdogs for the ordinary man or woman. They are
ready to champion the cause of the underdog and expose corruption and abuses of office. This is a vital
role in any democratic process and should be equally valuable and welcome in countries where a nondemocratic government guides or controls the press.
There is a difference between the desire to influence events for your own sake, and the desire to do it for
other people. You should never use journalism for selfish ends, but you can use it to improve the life of
other people - remembering that they may not always agree with you on what those improvements
should be.
There is a strong tradition in western societies of the media being the so-called Fourth Estate.
Traditionally the other three estates were the church, the aristocracy and the rest of society but
nowadays the idea of the four estates is often defined as government, courts, clergy and the media, with
the media the Fourth Estate acting as a balance and an advocate for ordinary citizens against
possible abuses from the power and authority of the other three estates. This idea of journalists
defending the rights of ordinary people is a common reason for young people entering the profession.
An interest in life
You must be interested in the world around you. You must want to find things out and share your
discoveries with your readers or listeners - so you should have a broad range of interests. It will help if
you already have a wide range of knowledge to build upon and are always prepared to learn something
new.
Love of language
You cannot be a truly great journalist without having a deep love of language, written or spoken. You
must understand the meaning and flow of words and take delight in using them. The difference between
an ordinary news story and a great one is often not just the facts you include, but the way in which you
tell those facts.
Journalists often have an important role in developing the language of a country, especially in countries
which do not have a long history of written language. This places a special responsibility on you, because
you may be setting the standards of language use in your country for future generations.
If you love language, you will take care of it and protect it from harm. You will not abuse grammar, you
will always check spellings you are not sure of, and you will take every opportunity to develop your
vocabulary.
The news story - the basic building block of journalism - requires a simple, uncomplicated writing style.
This need for simplicity can frustrate new journalists, even though it is often more challenging to write
simply than to be wordy. Once you have mastered the basic news story format, you can venture beyond
its limits and start to develop a style of your own.
Do not be discouraged by a slow start. If you grow with your language you will love it all the more.
A suspicious mind
People will give you information for all sorts of reasons, some justified, others not. You must be able to
recognise occasions when people are not telling the truth. Sometimes people do it unknowingly, but you
will still mislead your readers or listeners if you report them, whatever their motives. You must develop
the ability to recognise when you are being given false information.
If you suspect you are being given inaccurate information or being told deliberate lies, do not let the
matter rest there. Ask your informant more questions so that you can either satisfy yourself that the
information is accurate or reveal the information for the lie that it is.
Determination
Some people call it aggressiveness, but we prefer the word determination. It is the ability to go out, find
a story and hang on to it until you are satisfied you have it in full. Be like a dog with a bone - do not let
go until you have got all the meat off, even if people try to pull it out of your mouth.
This means you often have to ask hard questions and risk upsetting people who do not want to cooperate. It may be painful but in the end you will gain their respect. So always be polite, however rude
people may be. The rule is simple: be polite but persistent.
While you are hunting for your story, you may drive it away by being too aggressive. Sometimes you
may have to approach a story with caution and cunning, until you are sure you have hold of it. Then you
can start to chew on it.
Friendliness
You need to be able to get on well with all sorts of people. You cannot pick and choose who to interview
in the same way as you choose who to have as a friend. You must be friendly to all, even those people
you dislike. You can, of course, be friendly to someone without being their friend. If you are friendly to
everyone, you will also be fair with everyone.
Reliability
This is a quality admired in any profession, but is especially valued in journalism where both your
employer and your audience rely on you to do your job. If you are sent on an interview but fail to turn up
you offend a number of people: the person who is waiting to be interviewed; your editor who is waiting
to put the interview in his paper or program; your readers, listeners or viewers, who are robbed of news.
Even if you are late for an appointment, you will upset the schedules of both your interviewee and your
newsroom and risk being refused next time you want a story. In a busy news organisation, punctuality is
a necessity. Without it there would be chaos.
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To summarise
There are many reason for becoming a journalist and many type of journalists to become. It is
a career with many challenges and rewards.
Journalists must:
Have an interest in the world around them.
Love language.
Have an alert and ordered mind.
Be able to approach and question people.
Be polite but persistent.
Be friendly and reliable.
NEWS
The reader knows the outcome of the drama in the first sentence of the news story. The background
information about how it happened, and why it happened, are filled in later in the story.
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Top priority
News stories are written in a way which sets out clearly what is the top priority news, what is the next
most newsworthy, and so on. This makes it easier for readers and listeners to understand.
In many societies, people read newspapers and web pages in a hurry. They probably do not read every
word, but skim quickly through, reading headlines and intros to see which stories interest them. Some
which seem at first glance to be interesting may seem less interesting after a few paragraphs, and so the
reader moves on.
In other societies, people may find reading a newspaper hard work. This may be because it is written in
a language which is not their first language; or it may be because they are not good at reading. They,
too, will look at headlines and intros to decide which stories are interesting enough to be worth the effort
of reading them.
In either case, the readers will generally read less than half of most stories; there are very few
stories indeed of which they will read every word.
Similarly, people do not listen intently to every word of a radio or television news bulletin. Unless the first
sentence of each item interests them, they allow their minds to wander until they hear something that
interests them.
The way a news story is written therefore has to do two things:
It has to give the main point of the story very quickly, so that even if the reader moves on after
one or two paragraphs, or if the listener stops listening after the first sentence or two, they will
still have a fair idea of what the story was about.
This "shape" of the news story, with a "broad" top and a "narrow" base, is in the weight of the news
itself. Look back at the earlier example, of the Hohola house fire. See how the first paragraph of the
news story is the biggest news, and how the story begins to
taper down towards the minor detail.
The first paragraph, which is called theintro, contains the
most newsworthy part of the story - the newest, most
unusual, most interesting and most significant - told clearly
and simply. This is followed by a full explanation and all the
details. The most newsworthy parts of the story will be
written nearest to the top of the story.
The later part of the story - the tapering point of the inverted
pyramid - contains detail which is helpful, but not essential.
Here is an example of a short news story in the inverted
pyramid; structure:
A Palauli woman whose body was found in the sea is believed to have drowned.
Police say the 35-year-old woman, whose name has not been released, was an epileptic.
Her body was found floating in the sea near Palauli, Savai`i, on Monday.
A post mortem examination will be conducted today.
This format has a practical advantage, too. If it is necessary to cut a number of lines, to fit the story into
the available space on a page or into the available time in a news bulletin, it is best if the least important
facts are at the end. They can then be cut without harming the story.
It will be clear from this that the most important part of any news story is the intro and that intro writing
is one of the most important skills of a journalist.
We shall look in detail in the next chapter at how to write the intro.
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TO SUMMARISE:
News stories put the main point first, with other information following in order of importance,
finishing with the least important.
This helps readers and listeners by identifying the main news and saving them time and
effort.
The intro should be based on the most newsworthy aspect of the story.
The intro should be kept short, uncluttered and relevant to the main story. It should be simple
grammatically.
The intro should make the reader want to read the rest of the story.
Newsworthy
To write an intro, you must first decide what makes the story news. There may be several things which
are newsworthy in the story. If so, you have to decide which is the most newsworthy. This will be in the
intro.
In this way, your readers or listeners will be provided with the most important information straight away.
Even if they stop reading or listening after the first one or two sentences, they will still have an accurate
idea of what the story is about.
One simple way to do this is to imagine yourself arriving back at your office and being asked by the chief
of staff: "What happened?" Your quick answer to that question, in very few words, should be the basis of
your intro.
With some years of experience, you will find that you can recognise the most newsworthy aspect of a
story almost without thinking. While you are still learning, though, it is useful to have a step-by-step
technique to use. We shall explain this technique in detail later in this chapter.
Appropriate style
Not all possible intros are appropriate. It would be wrong to write a humorous intro for a story about a
tragedy. Serious news stories call for serious intros.
For example, if a man was eaten by the pet crocodile he had reared from an egg, it might seem amusing
to use the saying about "biting the hand that feeds you", but it would cause great hurt to the
man's family and friends for no good reason (apart from trying to show how clever you are).
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Key points
Before you write anything, you have to decide what is the most newsworthy aspect of the story. To do
this, let us remind ourselves of the main criteria for news:
Is it new?
Is it unusual?
Is it interesting or significant?
Is it about people?
Any fact or opinion which meets some or all of these criteria is what we call a key point. All the key
points belong in the news story, but only the most newsworthy belong in the intro. It is your job to
decide which.
Go through your notes, go through the handouts and, on a piece of paper, list all the key points.
Now go through the list of key points, ranking them in order of newsworthiness, according to the criteria
we have just mentioned. The key point which best meets the criteria will be number one on your list.
Let us do this with the following example.
Information
At 2 a.m. yesterday morning, meteorologists at the Nadi Weather Centre detected a cyclone
developing rapidly near Nauru and moving quickly south-west across the Pacific towards the
Solomon Islands. They named the cyclone "Victor". At 3 a.m., they contacted the Solomon Islands
government warning of the approach of Cyclone Victor. Government officials immediately put
emergency plans into operation. They warned all shipping in the area of the cyclone's approach.
They broadcast warnings on the radio, and alerted the police, who in turn sent officers to warn the
people. By 10 a.m., winds in Honiara were blowing at more than 140 kilometres per hour. At about
midday, the centre of the cyclone passed directly over Honiara before tracking into the Coral Sea,
where it blew itself out. In Honiara, more than 20 houses were destroyed and a number of other
buildings sustained considerable structural damage. More than 100 people are now homeless. Six
people were killed. Another 18 people have been treated in hospital for minor injuries. Mopping-up
operations have started in Honiara. The emergency services are still awaiting news from outlying
districts but believe that Honiara has been the worst affected. Police say that of the six people who
died, three men drowned when their car was blown off the road into a river, and two women and a
man were killed by flying debris.
Analysis
First we go through the story picking out the key points. For the purposes of this exercise, we shall limit
ourselves to six or seven of the most important ones.
Remember our four criteria and test each of the facts against them.
For example, how new, unusual or significant is it that meteorologists in Nadi detected the cyclone? After
all, this is one of their jobs. Also it happened at 2 a.m. yesterday, many hours ago. More significant and
certainly more up-to-date is the fact that they warned the Solomon Islands government. Maybe that is
not too unusual in the event of a cyclone, but certainly an unusual occurrence in the day-to-day
communication between the two nations. We will make that a key point:
We have to read on a bit further to find facts about the Solomon Islanders themselves, the people most
affected by the cyclone. They were first alerted to the cyclone by radio broadcasts and police officers.
They would have found this unusual and highly significant. Let us make this our next key point:
c) More than 20 houses destroyed and other buildings sustained considerable structural damage.
Key point (c) tells us about "houses", now we learn the fate of the people in them. More than 100 people
now have nowhere to live. That is unusual and very significant for both the people themselves and for
the government. It is also as up-to-date as we can get:
News angle
In most events journalists report on, there will be several ways of looking at the facts. A weatherman
may take a detached scientific view of Cyclone Victor, an insurance assessor will focus on damage to
buildings, a Solomon Islander will be interested in knowing about the dead and injured. They all look at
the same event from a different angle. Journalists are trained to look at events from a certain angle - we
TO SUMMARISE:
The intro should be
1.
newsworthy
2.
20 words or less
3.
4.
appropriate in style
Choose the main key points as your news angle for the intro
This is the first of four chapters about language and style in news writing. In this chapter, we
give guidance on how to write sentences for maximum understanding and why care over
language is important. In the three following chapters we show how to avoid some common
language problems, we suggest some rules for news writing style and we give advice on
translating news from one language to another.
________________________________________________________
The importance of language
Your main task as a journalist is to help people understand what is happening around them; in
their village, in their country and in the world. Most readers or listeners will not have your
knowledge of language, so you must simplify it for them. You should be able to examine the
most complicated issues and events then translate them into language which your audience
can understand. If you fail in this, people will stop buying your newspaper or tuning in to your
radio or television station. You will be failing in your job.
For many journalists today, English is the main language used for newspapers or magazines,
radio, television or the Internet. This book is written in English, so these chapters
concentrates on the English language. It is worth remembering, however, that even a
language as common as English is not exactly the same all over the world. There are
differences between, for example, UK English and American English. There are often also
differences in the way English is written or spoken within individual countries. It may
sometimes be difficult to decide what is correct in the English used in your country. Language
is developing all the time, and your country may not yet have a well-established set of rules
for English. If this is so, you should use the form which is accepted as correct by the most
literate educated people in your country. Above all, use words and grammar which are most
easily understood by your readers or listeners.
Although you are reading this in English, you may do a lot of writing in other languages. Many
of the general points we make about writing style will apply to these other languages. Learn
the general points and try to apply them to your own language or languages.
You may get some guidance on such things as sentence length, punctuation or word usage
from your organisation's style books. These are books which lay down rules for language you
must follow in your particular paper or broadcasting station. You should ask your editor or
chief of staff for a copy of your organisation's style book. Unfortunately, many small or new
organisations do not have their own style book. In these chapters, we try to give you some
general guidelines for language use and writing style. Use this advice to create your own style
guide. For more details on how to keep and use a style guide, see Chapter 15: Newsroom
books.
Short, sharp, clear sentences
Whether you write for newspapers, broadcasting or the Internet, you should always aim for
words and sentences which provide the maximum amount of understanding with the
minimum risk of confusion. This generally means keeping words and sentences short and
simple. You can use long words, but you must be sure they are doing their job properly.
InChapter 5: Writing the intro, the golden rules, we said that many words are like fat and lazy
people sitting back without paddles in a canoe. Remember, there is no room in your sentences
for fat and lazy words. If words do not add to understanding, throw them overboard.
Sentence length
There is no single rule about the length of sentences in news writing, but you should set
yourself a target for the maximum number of words you use. We suggest that you never use
more than 20 words in any sentence, except in special circumstances. If you follow this rule,
your sentences will be simpler, there will be less room for error and you will make a more
efficient use of words.
An alternative way of judging the best length for your sentences is to count the number of
ideas or concepts you expect your reader or listener to understand. Compare these two
examples of the same story. Notice how version A tries to pack all the ideas into one
sentence, whereas version B splits them into three separate sentences:
Story A
Four aircraft passengers, the pilot and three people travelling in a car were killed when a
twin-engined Beechcraft Baron aircraft hit an electric power line and crashed near Nadi
airport this week.
Story B
Eight people died when an aircraft crashed near Nadi airport this week.
The pilot and four passengers died when their twin-engined Beechcraft Baron hit a power line.
The plane then crashed into a car on a road near the airport, killing three more people.
Notice that, although Story B is 12 words longer than Story A, it is split into three sentences.
None of the sentences in Story B is longer than 20 words. Get someone to read both stories
out loud to you, and you will quickly see that Story B is easier to understand.
The reason is simple. Story A contains six separate ideas for the reader or listener to
understand at one time:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Story B, by comparison, has fewer ideas in each sentence. The first sentence has just four
simple ideas:
1.
2.
3.
where it crashed;
4.
when it crashed.
1.
2.
3.
2.
3.
You may argue that Story B, as well as being longer, gives a total of ten ideas to understand.
However, many of those ideas are not separate. They relate to details in the preceding
sentence. Linking ideas and repeating details often helps understanding. More important,
those ten ideas are not thrown at our audience in one breath. The full stop at the end of each
sentence (which comes as a pause on radio and television) allows the reader or listener time
to digest one set of facts before moving on to new details.
We recommend that you try to limit each sentence to no more than three separate ideas. You
can occasionally use four ideas per sentence, as long as those ideas are not complicated. We
fitted four ideas into the intro of Story B above because two of the ideas - the time and place are very simple and easy for the reader to understand.
Look back at the example of the Fiji cyclone in Chapter 6 to see how we changed an even
bigger mass of confusing detail into easily digestible sentences.
^^back to the top
Lively language
The words you use will help to make your story easy to understand. Later, in Chapter 11, we
give lists of words you should avoid, either because they are difficult to understand or
because they are fat and lazy and do not help to push your sentence along.
As we said earlier, long words are not bad in themselves, if they are the only words available
to explain a particular meaning accurately. However, the English language is large and varied
so there are usually shorter alternatives which do the job just as well as long words.
Many young journalists think that they have to use the whole of their vocabulary when
writing even the simplest news story. You may wish to show off your knowledge of the
language, but remember that your knowledge is not what matters. The vocabulary of your
reader or listener is more important.
Some journalists also believe that they can only add drama or depth to a story by adding
words. We get sentences like:
The man ran swiftly across the street to help the defenceless boy who was
RIGHT:
Import duty on meat and vegetables will
be reduced by ten percent.
The special subsidy for rice exporters will
be increased by five percent. These
changes will come into effect after the
next budget.
WRONG:
Duty on imported meat and vegetables
will be reduced by ten percent and the
special subsidy for rice exporters will be
increased by five percent but these
changes will not come into effect until
after the next budget.
Paired negatives
Paired or double negatives in English are not only bad grammar ("he has not got no
pawpaw"), they usually create confusion, especially in the spoken word. Although logically
paired negatives simply cancel each other out, many people do not use them in this way.
Many other languages have totally different rules about paired negatives, and even some
British dialects use the paired negative to add stress to a negative idea.
For example, the sentence "He was happy" is easy to understand. So is the sentence "He was
unhappy". But what do you understand by "He was not unhappy". Was he happy or unhappy?
Do you see the confusion? Make it a rule: avoid paired negatives.
^^back to the top
Objectivity
Your language must not only be easily understood, it must be fair. You should not use words
which give a biased view of a person, an event or a situation.
Many words develop special, biased meanings because of the way they are commonly used in
a community. In some cases, you cannot avoid using such words. Take care that the words
you use reflect the meaning in the community and not your own opinions.
In particular, you should be careful about using words which describe disputes or conflicts. In
these cases, each side to the dispute may choose to use the words which reflect well on them
and badly on their opponents. As a journalist, you should try to steer the middle course.
The most obvious cases of bias are introduced by the use of adjectives and adverbs. A
protester's peaceful resistance may seem like violent obstruction to a policeman on duty. An
injured person waiting for an ambulance may think it arrived slowly when the ambulance
driver believes he drove fast.
Verbs too can be loaded with bias. The same protester who lobbed a stone at a police van may
be seen by the men inside to have hurled it at them. A boss sees his workers go onstrike, the
workers may say they withdraw their labour. Words like sack, retrench and make
redundant describe similar situations in which people lose their jobs, but they mean quite
different things to the bosses and workers involved. Some American companies even speak
of letting workers go, even though the workers themselves have no choice.
Nouns can also express bias. A building can be a house to a poor person, yet seem like
ashack to the rich observer. It may seem to be in a suburb to its owner, and in a slum to the
rich man. And who is rich? If you have $100 you will be rich to a beggar, but poor to a
millionaire.
It is impossible to list all the words which may contain bias. You must look at each word
individually and ask yourself if it is fair and accurate.
Quotes
You are on safer ground when you use words in quotes. That way the reader can judge the
bias through the eyes of the person you quote. (In radio or television, it is better to use a
recording of people speaking the actual words, called actuality.) In the following example,
look at the difference between these two sentences describing the same crime. Notice how
the magistrate and the accused see the crime in opposite ways:
The magistrate said: "These were mean and despicable thefts, carried out against a
defenceless family for no good reason."
The accused said: "I never robbed anyone. I just took from the rich people and gave it back to
the poor."
Do not pass judgment. Give the words in quotes and let you readers or listeners judge for
themselves.
An added advantage of using quotes is that you can use much livelier language - the words
the people themselves used. We talked about this in detail in Chapters 8 and 9 on quotes and
attribution.
TO SUMMARISE:
You must keep your language clear and simple so that your readers or listeners can
understand.
Sentences should be short - no longer than 20 words or three concepts (ideas).
Sentence structure should be simple; it is best to write in the active voice.
Explain any new words whenever you use them.
This is the end of Part 1 of the this four-part section on language & style. If you now want to
read on, follow this link to the second section, Chapter 11: Language & style - words.
^^back to the top
Spelling
Languages are in a constant state of change. English, as the world's most widely used language, changes
faster than most. Spelling is an area in which this change is most noticeable. There are two standards in
spelling - Commonwealth English and American English. Which spelling you choose will depend on usage
in your country. Most media organisations decide on a particular alternative and stick to it. Here are
some examples of alternative spellings:
COMMONWEALTH
colour
organise
through
defence
jewellery
AMERICAN
color
organize
thru
defense
jewelry
Jargon
Jargon is specialised language concerned with a particular subject, culture or profession. It is not usually
found in the everyday speech of your ordinary reader or listener. Typical of jargon are such things as
medical or technical terms, understood by small groups of specialists in their own fields. For example,
a coronary thrombosis to a doctor is commonly called a heart attack by the layman. Computer scientists
speak of accessing data when ordinary people talk about getting information.
There is an obvious need for such technical terms in context, such as the doctor's surgery or the
computer room. Unfortunately, jargon words tend to spill over into the media. This is partly because
journalists want to impress readers or listeners by their knowledge and partly because journalists do not
understand what they have been told. Bad journalists find it easier to pass on the problem to their
audience by simply repeating the difficult words which they have been given and don't understand. You
should first ask the person concerned to explain what they mean in simpler terms.
This is especially obvious in reporting on government and the public service. Officials often hide behind
their own jargon, using it as a wall to keep the public away from their secrets. A Papua New Guinea
Minister for Minerals, speaking about foreign shareholders in a big mine, was quoted as saying:
"...they were invited to participate in the development of that mineral resource and they are obligated to
honour their agreement to participate."
Put into simple English, this means:
They agreed to take part in mining and must stick to that agreement.
Notice that we have had to take the sentence out of direct quotes. You cannot drastically alter the words
a person says and leave your readers or listeners believing that they were a direct quote. It is much
better to use reported speech that people can understand than use quotes which they cannot.
The message is clear. If you do not understand what you are writing, do not write it. If you have
a good knowledge of language, you can translate jargon yourself. If you have any doubts, go back to the
people who gave you the information and ask them: "What does it mean in plain English?"
Having said that, there are times when you have to use technical or otherwise difficult terms. In such
cases, you should provide an explanation for your reader or listener. This need not be complicated. In the
following example, we use the term de facto and explain it within the natural structure of the story:
The immigration service says it will no longer recognise de facto relationships in issuing visas.
Officials say that in future, they will only give joint entry permits to couples who are married.
Men and women living together in de facto relationships will have to apply separately.
Always try to explain abstract jargon in concrete terms; that is, translate ideas into what they mean in
the day-to-day lives of your readers or listeners. This is important in areas such as economics and
government. For example, a ten percent annual rate of inflation means for most people that the dollar in
the pocket a year ago now buys only 90 cents-worth of goods. An increase in the basic tax rate means
that workers will get less money in their pay packet.
Public servants often take ordinary words and alter their use, making them difficult for people to
understand. For example, they talk about sighting a document when they really mean they saw it. To
sight something usually means suddenly seeing it from a distance. To complicate matters further, there is
also a verb to cite a document, which means to quote from it. To a radio listener, "sight" and "cite" both
sound the same. There are numerous examples of misuse which you should avoid whenever possible.
The following is a list of jargon words and phrases. Alongside each there is an example of a good
alternative:
absence of
accommodate
accommodation
adequate
no
hold or seat
housing or room
enough
adjacent to
affluent
a great deal of
ahead of schedule
along the lines of
anticipate
approximately
ascertain
as of that time
assistance
at an early date
attempt
at that moment in time
at the present time
at this moment in time
behind schedule
beverage
by means of
cause injuries to
commence, commencement
compel
concerning
constructed of
currently
deceased
demonstrate
despite the fact that
discontinue
dispatched
donate
due to the fact that
encounter
eventuate
exceedingly
facilitate
filled to capacity
gained entrance to
gathered together
give approval to
give consideration to
give rise to
hospitalisedhospital
to implement
in addition
in advance of
in attendance
in consequence oof
inform
in isolation
initiate
in light of the fact
in many cases
near
rich
a lot of
early
like
expect
about
find out
then
help
soon
try
then
now
now
late
drink
by/using
injure
start
force
about/on
made of
now
dead
show
although
stop
sent
give
because
meet
happen
very
help
full
got in
met
approve
consider
cause
put in hospital
to do/ carry out
also
before
there
because of
tell
alone
start
because
often
in order to
inquire
in regard to
in spite of
in spite of the fact that
in the course of
in the direction of
in the event of
in the vicinity of
is suffering from
made good their escape
manufacture
materialise
measure up to
meet with
necessitate
an objective
on the occasion of
on the part of
participate
passed away
pay tribute to
persons/personnel
place under arrest
to possess
prior to
proceed
purchase
regarding
render assistance to
residence
shortfall in supply
submitted his resignation
subsequently
sufficient
sustained injuries
take action on the issue
terminate
take into consideration
transmit
urban centres
utilise
valued at
voice disapproval of
was of the opinion that
whole of
with reference to
with the exception of
to
ask
about
despite
although
while
towards
in/if
near
has
escaped
make
happen/appear
fit/reach
meet
force/need
an aim
when
by
take part
died
thank/praise
people/workers/staff
arrest
to have
before
go
buy
about
help
home
shortage
resigned
later
enough
was hurt
act
end
consider
send
cities or towns
use
worth
object to
thought/said
all
about
except
Unnecessary words
People frequently put in extra words or phrases which do not add to understanding. As a journalist you
should judge which words help your reader or listener and which only make the sentence longer. For
example, people write about waiting for a period of two years. The phrase a period of is unnecessary;
you should simply say waiting for two years.
Another common fault, particularly in the spoken word, is to add adjectives or adverbs to nouns or verbs
which should not have them. In grammar, this is called redundancy. It usually happens where the noun
or verb is an absolute; that is, where something either is or is not, with no half measures. It is clearly
wrong to describe a woman as very pregnant. A woman is either pregnant or she is not; there is a
definite moment when she becomes pregnant. If the very is being used to indicate that she has been
pregnant for several months, it is best to give exact details saying, for example, the woman is eight
months pregnant.
It is equally wrong to describe a person as utterly dead. There is a moment at which life stops; people
are either dead or they are alive, they cannot be slightly dead or rather dead. They may be nearing
death, but that is a different and quite acceptable phrase.
The following is a list of unnecessary words and redundant phrases. Get rid of the words in italics:
absolute perfection
absolutely necessary
accidentally stumble
acute crisis
adequate enough
advance planning
a distance of two metres
all-time record
a number of examples
a period of two years
appear on the scene
ask the question
assemble together
at a later date
attach together
best ever
blazing inferno
broad daylight
comment to the effect that
completely untrue
connect together
continue in existence
continue on
co-operate together
definite decision
during the course of
each and every
entirely new
estimated at about
ever since
exactly identical
exactly the same as
face up to
few in number
filter out
follow after
for a period of
future prospect
gather together
general public
honest truth
total extinction
totally destroy
totally unnecessary
true facts
unite together
usual custom
violent explosion
whether or not
widow of the late
win out
worst ever
Clichs
These are phrases which have been used so often in such a variety of situations that they have lost most
of their meaning and force. They become boring to regular readers or listeners and should be avoided.
Journalists in older English-speaking countries such as Britain and the United States are usually taught to
avoid clichs. There are two problems facing young journalists in developing countries in the use of
clichs. One is that clichs often depend on aspects of a culture specific to certain countries. To describe
something which happens very slowly, a British person might say at a snail's pace, whereas an American
would say as slow as molasses in January (a reference to the way that sticky liquids like molasses are
harder to pour in cold weather). The American clich might not be understood by many British people,
who call molassestreacle. It would be meaningless to people living south of the Equator, for whom
January is a hot month - and for people in the tropics who have no experience of cold seasons.
Journalists should be able to recognise clichs which develop in the language of their own country. If, for
example, everyone talks about things or people being as fat as a buffalo, this becomes a clich. The
good journalist will find an alternative which is more accurate or more lively.
The second problem with clichs is that phrases which have become boring in one country may seem
fresh and powerful in another. Again, it is your responsibility as a journalist to recognise which phrases
are fresh and meaningful, which are stale and meaningless.
We will give you a list of phrases which have become clichs in most of the developed English-speaking
nations. It is for you to decide which are clichs in your country:
bitter end
blessing in disguise
blunt instrument
brutally murdered
budding genius
busy as a bee
calm before the storm
colourful scene
conservative estimate
crime wave
crystal clear
daring robbery
dramatic new moves
dull thud
easy prey
fateful day
festive mood
few and far between
finishing touches
flow like water
foregone conclusion
gruesome find
hail of bullets
hang in the balance
head over heels
hot pursuit
ill-fated
in full swing
in the hot seat
in the limelight
in the nick of time
Mother Nature
mystery surrounds
nipped in the bud
order out of chaos
pool of blood
proud father
raced to the scene
rags-to-riches
red-blooded male
sadder but wiser
sea of faces
second to none
sigh of relief
sign of the times
silver lining
smell a rat
sparkling eyes
steaming jungle
storm of protest
stormy session
sweeping changes
terror-stricken
thick and fast
tiny tots
top-level meeting
tower of strength
vanish into thin air
watery grave
whirlwind tour
white as a sheet
widespread anxiety
Troublesome words
A large number of words in the English language are misused. Often it is simply a matter of confusion
between similar-sounding words. It is important that you use words correctly. For example, there is often
confusion in radio and television between the word diseased (which means having a disease)
and deceased (which means dead). In fact, the word deceased causes young reporters so many
problems you should avoid using it altogether. Police reports often speak of the deceased when referring
to a dead man or woman. A reporter who simply parroted a police statement about a fight between two
men wrote the sentence:
The deceased went up to the accused and hit him over the head with a stick.
It is clearly nonsense to say that a dead man hit anybody over the head with a stick. Dead people do not
do that. The sentence would have been much clearer if the reporter had used both men's names.
The following is a list of words which frequently cause problems, especially through misuse:
affect: is a verb meaning to have an influence on. Often confused with effect which is the noun. So we
say: The girl's headache affected her performance, but the noise had no effect on her.
all right: is two words. Do not spell it alright.
alternatives: a choice between two things. If there are more than two, use choices.
among: used when there are more than two things. If there are two things, say between.
anxious: means to be troubled or worried. It is sometimes wrongly used to mean eager.
beside: means at the side of. Besides means in addition to.
canvass: means to ask for something. Do not confuse it with canvas, which is a cloth.
charge: there is often confusion between to charge with and to charge for. A person is charged with an
offence (the man was charged with murder) People are charged for goods or services they receive (he
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References (3)
Resources (2)
About the Author
Scott Knickelbine began writing professionally in 1977. He is the author of 34 books and his
work has appeared in hundreds of publications, including "The New York Times," "The
Milwaukee Sentinel," "Architecture" and "Video Times." He has written in the fields of
education, health, electronics, architecture and construction. Knickelbine received a
Bachelor of Arts cum laude in journalism from the University of Minnesota.
For the bifurcated Northern India edition, see The Indian Express.
Type
Daily newspaper
Format
Broadsheet
Owner(s)
Editor-in-
Prabhu Chawla
chief
Founded
Political
Centrist
alignment
Language
English
Circulation
OCLCnumber 243883379
Website
Newindianexpress.com
1 History
2 Editions
3 Circulation
4 Recent changes
5 Web sites
6 See also
7 External links
History[edit]
Indian Express was first published on September 5, 1932 in Madras (nowChennai) by
an Ayurvedic doctor and Indian National Congress member P Varadarajulu Naidu, publishing from
the same press at which he ran the 'Tamil Nadu' Tamil weekly. But soon, on account of financial
difficulties, he sold it toS. Sadanand, founder of The Free Press Journal, another English newspaper.
In 1933, The Indian Express opened its second office in Madurai and launched
the Tamil daily Dinamani on September 11, 1934. Sadanand introduced several innovations and
reduced the price, but later sold part of his stake in the form of convertible debentures to Ramnath
Goenka due to financial difficulties. Later, when The Free Press Journal further went into financial
decline in 1935, Sadanand lost ownership of Indian Express after a long controversial court battle
with Goenka, where blows were exchanged between some of the parties. Finally, a year later,
Goenka bought the rest of the 26 per cent stake from Sadanand, and the paper came under the
control of Goenka, who took the already anti-establishment tone of the paper to greater heights. [citation
needed]
Also at that time it had to face stiff competition from a well established The Hindu and the Mail,
besides other prominent newspapers. In the late 1930s, the circulation was no more than 2,000 [citation
needed]
.
In 1939 Goenka bought out Andhra Prabha, another prominent Telugu Daily. Later it gained the
name Three Musketeersfor the three dailies[citation needed]. In 1940 the whole premises were gutted by
fire. The Hindu, its rival, helped considerably in re-launching the paper, by getting it printed
temporarily at one of its Swadesimithrans press and later offering its recently vacated premises in
Madras at 2, Mount Road later to become the landmark Express Estates[citation needed]. This relocation
also helped the Express obtain better high speed printing machines, while some claimed
the Goenka had deliberately set fire to escape financial embarrassment[citation needed].
In later years, Goenka started the Mumbai edition with the landmark Express Towers as his office
when the Morning Standard was bought by him in 1944. Two years later it became the Mumbai
edition of The Indian Express. Later on, editions were started in several cities
like Madurai (1957), Bangalore (1965) and Ahmedabad (1968). The Financial Expresswas launched
in 1961 from Mumbai, a Bangalore edition of Andhra Prabha was launched in 1965,
and Gujarati dailies Lok Satta and Jansatta in 1952, from Ahmedabad and Baroda.
The Delhi edition started was when the Tej group's Indian News Chronicle was acquired in 1951,
which from 1953 became the Delhi edition of Indian Express. In 1990 it bought the Sterling group of
magazines, and along with it the Gentlemanmagazine.
After Goenka's demise in 1991, two of the family members split the group into Indian Express
Mumbai with all the North Indian editions, while the Southern editions were grouped as Express
Publications (Madurai) Limited with Chennai as headquarters.
Editions[edit]
The New Indian Express is now published from all 22 major cities in Andhra
Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala andOdisha.
Circulation[edit]
The New Indian Express has a net paid circulation of 435,618 copies (Source: ABC J-D, 2010). The
NIE achieves its biggest penetration (paid sales per head of population) in the state of Kerala. It also
claims to be the first Indian newspaper to give insurance benefits to its subscribers [citation needed]. The New
Indian Express is published in a geographical area that covers approximately 24 per cent of the
national population. The New Sunday Express (the Sunday edition of the NIE) is arguably the
flagship publication, with magazine supplements incorporating both national and international
themes and sections on developmental issues, society, politics, literature, arts, cinema, travel,
lifestyle, sports, new-age living, self-development and entertainment.
Recent changes[edit]
During late 2007/early 2008, there was a big shakeout of editorial staff, with many old hands leaving
to make way for new. In April 2008, the newspaper underwent a major, drastic and exceptionally
modern layout and design makeover and launched a huge advertising campaign.
In October 2007, The New Indian Express launched a 40-page Friday magazine supplement (now,
total colour) called "Indulge" exclusively for the Chennai edition. In September 2010, the lifestyle
pullout began publishing its Bangalore edition.
It also renamed all the city supplements, calling them City Express and focusing more on the
respective city's culture and lifestyle, rather than hard news. Its other supplements, which appear on
a weekly or fortnightly basis, are on career and education. The 24-page education supplement,
called edex, was launched in early 2010.
At present, The New Indian Express is the only national daily which publishes news of farflung Andaman and Nicobar Islands on an everyday basis. The TNIE has a staffer at Port Blair, the
capital city of the remote archipelago.
Web sites[edit]
The New Indian Express Group of Companies also publishes Dinamani in Tamil and the following
magazines: Cinema Express (Tamil), Malayalam Vaarika (Malayalam). The Group runs the following
websites:
http://www.newindianexpress.com (English)
http://www.dinamani.com (Tamil)
http://www.cinemaexpress.com (Tamil)
http://www.malayalamvarikha.com (Malayalam)
http://www.kannadaprabha.com (Kannada)
See also[edit]
External links[edit]
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